Imperial March

Are Americans ready to join the dark side of the force and start piloting their own 50-foot AT-AT vehicle as seen in The Empire Strikes Back? Heiko Hoffman, a robotics expert, doesn’t believe it’s impossible to build a “modern-day robotic walker,” but the nearly $100 million in costs might be out of the price range for anyone who isn’t a billionaire.

Even if you had the money to build one, it is important to address the stress the mass will put on the four-legged walker’s joints. However, the most important obstacle to overcome is not violating Lucasfilm’s intellectual property rights.